Poultry-feeding device.



F. FEUERSTEIN. POULTRY FEEDING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 13. 1914.

,Patenteddune 8, 1915.

THE NORRIS PETERS CO.. FHOTO'LITHEL. WASHINGTON. D. C

' FRANK FEUERSTEIN, 0F 'WILLIi AMSVIL LE, NEW YORK.

POULTRY-FEEDING DEvicE. I

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, FRANK FEUERSTEIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at WVilliamsville, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Poultry-Feeding Devices,-of which the following is a specification. r Q.

This invention relates to poultry feeding devices, and it has for its object to produce a device of simple and inexpensive construction including a food receptacle having a swinging door, latch means for retaining the door in a closed position, and means; for releasing the latch at a predetermined tlme,

thereby permitting. the food to escape'and' drop on the ground or into a receptacle provided for its reception and which Wlll be accessible to the poultry to be fed.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and efficient device of the character described in which the trigger Fig. 4 is a sectional detail View mechanism may be operated or actuated by a'timing device consisting of an ordinary alarm clock. l

With these and otherends in view which will'readily appear as the natureof the invention isbetter understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel view of a device constructed'in accordance with the invention. Fig. 21s a rear elevation of thesame. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 33 in Fig.2. taken on the line H in Fig. 2.

. Corresponding parts in the several figures are denoted by like characters of reference. Referring to the drawing, A designates a hopper shaped casing 10 supported on legs or uprights 15 and having a hinged lid 16 and a hinged bottom member '17 the latter being adapted to be retained in closed position by means of a hook-shaped latch member or lever 18 pivoted'on one side of Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed February 13, 1914. SerialN 0. 818,546.

PatentedJune 8, 1915 the casing andadapted -to engage a pin 19 pro ecting from "one; edge "of the bottom member 17. Extending transversely through the lever or latch -member 18 or :OiJhGIWlSG connected therewith substantially at right angles thereto is a trigger rod having long and short arms designated, respec- Mounted or secured on the end of the easclock 24:;is accommodated,said box being tively, by 20 and 21.. The long arm 20 extends beyond one end of the casing.

ing is a box 23 in which an ordinary alarm provided'iwith front and rear doors 25, 26,

through which the clock is accessible for .the purpose offsetting and'winding the same, the front door having a transparent pane 27 through which the clock face may be observed. The alarm post 28 of the clock is provided with a disk 30 having a wrist pin 31. adapted to engage above the long arm 20. of the trigger rod-Which extends I through .a slot 30 in one sideof the box so as to be capable. of engaging the wrist'pin x 31. The short arm 21 of said rod carries which tends to maintain the'hooklever or catch member 18in engagement with the pin 19 to secure the bottom member of the receptacle in closed position.

It is preferred to make the lid orxcover an adjustable weight 32, the gravity of 16 of arcuate, approximately semi-circular shape in cross section. Said lid or cover is, moreover, provided v adjacent to the ends thereof with uprights 33 supporting a lon- I gitudinally disposed wire 34:, saidv wire be- J ing positioned some three .or four inchesabovethe lid so as to prevent thepoultry prefrom roosting on said lid. It is also ferred toextend one edge of the lid beyond the side ofthe box or hopper, as indicated at 35, to form a cornice that will protect the triggerrod. I

In the operation of this device, the alarm 7 Clock is set to the hour at which it is desired to trip the device, and the alarm is then wound, care being taken to leave the wrist pin 3 1zat-or near the highest point above the axis of the winding post. The bottom member 17 is now closed, itbeing maintained in a closed position by the catch member 18' which, under the influence of the weight 21 willbe held in engagement therewith. The desired quantity of feed is now placed inthe box through the opening obstructed by the cover member 16. It is evident that by ad,

justing the catch the free end of the long arm 20 of the trigger rod will be moved upward into engagement with the wrist pin 31.

that is placed in the box. When the box is practically filled, the weight exerted on the member 17 is obviously greater than when a small quantity of feed is placed in the box; hence when the box is filled toits capacity, the weight 82 should be moved in the direction of the latch member 18, while when but a small quantity of feed is placed in the box, the weight should .be moved outward from the latch member so as to exert a greater tension on the lever. lhus, when the box is but partly filled the gravity of the weight will have to be overcome in addition to the friction caused between the latch member 18 and the pin 19 by the weight of the load in order to open the box to release the contents. T he weight 32 thus constitutes a safety device which will guard against the release of the latch by accident or by the pecking of the fowls thereagainst, it being possible to gage the adjustment of said safety device so accurately that the power exerted by the alarm clock will at all times be sufiicient to actuate the latch for the purpose of releasing the contents of the box.

lit will be seen that I have produced an extremely simple and thoroughly effective automatic poultry feeding device which may be actuated at any hour previously determined. I desire to state that within the l scope of the invention, the hopper-shaped receptacle may be divided longitudinally and provided with a bottom door for each compartment, in which event an alarm clock and actuating mechanism may be provided at each end of the device, thus enabling the device to be adapted for two separate feedright angles thereto and having a ings, but inasmuch as this would involve mere duplication of parts, it is not considered necessary to particularly illustrate the same.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed as new, is

1. In a device of the class described, a hopper-shaped casing including a hinged bottom member, the latter having a pin projecting at the free edge thereof, a lever pivoted on a side member of the casing and having a hook engaging the pin, a trigger rod connected with the lever substantially at right angles thereto and having long and short arms, a weight adjustable on the short arm and tending to maintain the hook of the catch lever in engagement with the pin of the. bottom member, and an alarm clock supported in proximity to the casing and having an alarm'post carrying a disk provided with a wrist pi-n projecting in the path of the long arm of the trigger rod.

2. In a device of the class'described, a hopper-shaped casing having a hinged bottom member, the latter having a pin extending from the free edge thereof, a box mounted on one end of the casing and having a slot in one side thereof, an alarm clock contained in said box and having a projecting alarm post carrying a disk having a wrist pin, a catch lever pivoted on one side of the casing and having a hook engaging the pin extending from the bottom member, a trigger rod connected with the catch lever at long and a'hshort arm, the long arm being guided through the slot in the side of the box beneath the wrist pin, and a weight adjustable on the short arm of the trigger rod and serving to maintain the catch lever in engagement with the pin of the bottom member.

In testimony; whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. FRANK FEUERSTEIN.

lVitnesses lVlARK P. KERR, WILLIAM R. POVENY.

(topics of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

